Queen Wilhelmina
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands has had the longest reign in the history of the Dutch monarchy. She has been honored with many monuments and statues across the country including in The Hague and Amsterdam.
PRINCESS WILHELMINA
Born on 31st August 1880, Princess Wilhelmina was the only child of King Willem III and Queen Emma of the Netherlands. At the time of her birth, her father was already 63 years of age, while her mother was just 22.
Wilhelmina became second in line to the throne, behind her half-brother Alexander, Prince of Orange. He was the king’s third son from his first marriage (to Sophie of Wurttemberg). The prince fell ill with typhus and died in 1884, making Princess Wilhelmina the heir apparent at 4 years of age.
QUEEN WILHELMINA
In 1890, King Willem III died of kidney failure at age 72, elevating Wilhelmina to Queen of the Netherlands at 10 years old. Due to her young age, her mother Emma became her Regent, carrying out all required royal duties until Wilhelmina turned 18 in 1898.
Although the Queen was often at odds with the government and its ministers, the Dutch people embraced her. Their support and defense of he was initially inspired by her youth but continued throughout her reign. She was the fourth monarch to rule the Netherlands but the first to disdain elitism. She was often seen cycling on streets rather than being chauffeured.
Both World War I and World War II occurred during the queen’s reign. In 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands forcing Queen Wilhelmina into exile in the United Kingdom. During those years, she would make late night speeches of support for her subjects and the Dutch resistance. The speeches were broadcast on BBC radio which could be picked up in Holland.
Three years after her return to the Netherlands at the end of WWII, Queen Wilhelmina (aged 68) chose to abdicate the throne due to poor health. Her reign of 58 years remains the longest in the Dutch monarch. Once her eldest daughter Juliana was coronated, Wilhelmina’s title became ‘Her Royal Highness, Princess Wilhelmina of the Netherlands’.
Wilhelmina lived out her last years at Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn. She made only occasional public appearances until 1953, following the tragic North Sea Flood which killed over 1,000 people, when she toured the country to offer condolences and encouragement to the Dutch people.
Princess Wilhelmina died at the age of 82.
QUEEN WILHELMINA MONUMENTS & STATUES
The Queen Wilhelmina monument on Paleisplein was designed by Charlotte van Pallandt based on photos of Wilhelmina at an event in Rotterdam in 1958. Written on the stone wall in back of the bronze sculpture are the words ‘Eenzaam maar niet alleen‘ (Lonely, but not alone), the title of the memoir she wrote in her final years.
The Queen Wilhelmina monument was unveiled in 1987 during a ceremony attended by both her daughter, then Princess Juliana and her granddaughter Queen Beatrix.
Just a few blocks from the Queen Wilhelmina monument on Paleisplein is another marker of the former Dutch queen, in recognition of her 25-year jubilee. The brick pillar is topped by a gold ball and is inset with tile work. At the top is a depiction of a white stork (symbol of The Hague) followed by the words Met den aanleg, van dezen verkeers weg werd een begin gemaakt in 1923 het jaar waar in blijde werd her dacht de 25 jarige regeering van Koningin Wilhelmina (‘With the construction of this road, traffic was started in 1923, the year where we happily remember the 25-year reign of Queen Wilhelmina’).
AMSTERDAM STATUE
An equestrian statue honoring Queen Wilhelmina is located on the boulevard Rokin in Amsterdam. This is the only equestrian statue in the city and was created by Dutch sculptor Theresia van der Pent, commissioned by the Amsterdam Contact Group of Women’s Organizations in 1964.
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